


La Lune

by CrabbyCris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, Just slightly, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series, Slow Burn, as in like lotsa f bombs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-01-22 20:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12489924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrabbyCris/pseuds/CrabbyCris
Summary: Before Shiro crashed back down to earth, before the blue lion called out to Lance, before they became the defenders of the universe, there was the Galaxy Garrison, a shack in the middle of the desert, and four kids counting stars.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a slight canon divergence, pre-series. the paladins (sans shrio 'cause he's up in space) meet through the garrison and work together to track shiro down.
> 
> so it's been literally years since i've written any sort of fanfic. my last fic was back in my glee days in, like, 2012 when i was active on my fanfiction.net account and before i knew ao3 was even a thing, ha.
> 
> i've always wanted to write some garrison stuff because i'm a sucker for boarding school type scenarios so there's a lot of that in the beginning while i'm setting up the story. most of this will take place in the desert and there will be much bonding and cute shit. and a fuckton of klance because i just love those boys.
> 
> for now, i'm keeping the rating at teen and up for "language" (mainly just a bunch of fucks thrown around) and some eventual making out and such. depending on how comfortable i am on my smut writing skills the rating might go up?? but i'm honestly not sure right now since it's been 5ever since i've written any kinda smut and i really won't wanna butcher it, haaaa.
> 
> please review and let me know what you thing maybe??? hopefully??? i hope people like this!!
> 
> ok, i'm done rambling, on to the actual fic :')

It had been a week since Lance had laid eyes on the list that was basically going to decide his entire career as a pilot. His heart had skipped a beat when he found his name under the list of pilots. Then it had sunk deep in his chest when next to it, the title read _Cargo Pilot_. His stomach had twisted unpleasantly as he stepped closer to the screen, finger pressing against his name and sliding along to the title. He had to make sure he hadn’t misread it or looked at the wrong title.

Nope.

It definitely read Cargo Pilot.

Lance had slowly retreated away and out of the group of students huddled around the wall. Shortly after, Hunk had joined Lance, a huge smile spread across the taller boy’s face. It had quickly faltered when he noticed the way Lance’s shoulders were slumped and the way his eyes were downcast. When Lance noticed his friend calling out to him, voice concerned he looked up, trying his best to square up his shoulders and offer a smile. He knew he hadn’t done a very good job at hiding his disappointment, though. “I’m gonna be a pilot, dude!” he had said, voice wavering in the slightest.

Hunk had smiled encouragingly. “That’s awesome, man!”

And that had been that. Hunk hadn’t asked what kind of pilot, or asked why Lance had looked so dejected. It was almost like he just _knew._ Shortly after, the subject had been changed and they made their way to the mess hall for lunch.

It had been weeks since that day. It had taken Lance a few days to accept his position as a cargo pilot, but he did just that--accept it. He knew he was lucky to be a pilot at all. It had been his dream, and maybe he wasn’t going to be the type of pilot he had wanted, but he was going to be able to _fly_.

Today would be his first day using the brand new flying simulator. All day, Lance had been a ball of barely controlled energy. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop talking about. The simulation class wouldn’t take place until the end of the day and when it was finally time, Lance spent the entire walk there talking Hunk’s ear of.

Hunk, however, did not seem as excited as Lance. He looked more worried than anything.

“What if I get nauseous and throw up? What if I pass out? Will they kick me out, or will they take pity on me and--”

“Hunk!” Lance stopped him. “Can you just chill out for, like, a second? You’ll be fine.”

Hunk gave off a small groan of protest as they entered the massive room that housed a single, large simulator. The sight made Lance’s heart leap, excited. “Aww, man, I am so ready for this!”

“That makes one of us,” Hunk mumbled beside him.

Commander Iverson stood at the head of the class and began introductions, explaining how the machine worked and what was expected of the students. Soon after he began listing off the teams that would go in together. Each group would have a different mission and would have to work together to make it out alive.

“Alright,” Commander Iverson began, “First up we have Keith Kogane, Stacy Harrison and Eric Flanders.”

At the mention of this Keith guy’s name, two students to Lance’s left began muttering to each other.

“Shit, that’s Keith! This girl in math told me he’s an _incredible_ fighter pilot.”

“I wanna be on that kid’s team, he’s a freaking beast.”

Lance couldn’t help but look on, interested at this apparent “incredible fighter pilot.” He also couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of jealousy because he wished _that_ was him up there. 

The guy looked so uninterested, it almost made Lance angry.

But, _shit_ , he really was talented. So good, in fact, that even Commander Iverson congratulated him on a job well done. He man even _smiled_. Lance’s jaw clenched in the slightest at that. He wasn’t sure he had ever seen Commander Iverson compliment a student and mean it. Even after the praise, Keith _still_ looked as uninterested as ever. Lance watched him return to the group, looking like he didn’t even want to be in the room.

“The hell is his problem?” Lance muttered to Hunk who shrugged in response with a muttered, “Dunno.”

“McClain!”

Lance jumped and looked toward the front of the class.

“If I catch you chatting it up one more time, you are out of my class. Also, you’re up, so get your butt over here.”

“Yes’ir,” Lance responded quickly and shouldered his way through the group of kids who were currently staring him down.

Lance couldn’t help but notice that Keith was the only one who didn’t look his way.

\---

The simulation was a disaster. His team had failed miserably and Lance had been scolded in front of the entire class.

When he returned to his place within the group, he noticed that Keith was gone.

\---

“Alright, so _what_ is the deal with this Keith dude?” Lance asked later that evening over dinner.

“What do you mean?” Hunk asked before shoving a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“Like…” Lance pushed the broccoli on his plate around, staring down at it for a moment before lifting his gaze back up to Hunk. “He didn’t seem to care about anything in class today. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Commander Iverson _never_ compliments anyone. When he complimented Keith, the guy had no reaction what so ever.”

“Maybe he’s an alien,” Hunk said, eyes widening in the slightest. 

“I’m being serious, man,” Lance chuckled, tossing a piece of broccoli across the table at Hunk who grinned in response. “He’s got the position that _I_ want and he’s acting like he doesn’t even want to be here.”

“Do I sense some _jealousy_ , Lance?” Hunk asked, eyebrows shooting up.

“ _No_ ,” Lance snapped, then paused. “Maybe? A little? I don’t know!” He took a bite of his food before shrugging as he chewed on it thoughtfully. “Maybe this means I have a chance. Maybe he’s on the verge of dropping out, or something. And that’ll mean I can--”

“ _Lance_.”

“ _What?_ ” Lance hissed in response. “I’m not saying I’m gonna sabotage him or anything. I’m just hoping that maybe…?”

Hunk shook his head, disappointed. “That’s cold, man.”

“Maybe I’m just a guy who know’s what he wants.” He shoved another forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “A guy who wants to be a fighter pilot.”

 

\-----

“So apparently your fighter pilot nemesis has been getting into some trouble lately,” Hunk said over some homework in the library a week later.

Lance looked up from his books, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. Commander Iverson went _off_ on the guy this morning because he hasn’t been showing up to class. He keeps disappearing halfway through the lessons and sneaking off campus.”

“Oh, man,” Lance whispered, mostly to himself, chewing on the end of his pen. “If he keeps it up, the dude’s _definitely_ gonna get booted. Maybe we can kind of, y’know, help him.”

“Help him, what? Get expelled?” Hunk asked, incredulously.

Lance feigned innocence. “What?” he huffed out a sigh. “No, just, like--” He paused. “Ok, yeah, maybe just a little.”

“Lance, I am _not_ going to help you get some kid kicked out of the academy.”

“Aw, c’mon, he’s already doing most of the damage. He just needs a little push!”

“Lance, _no_.” Hunk looked back down to his text book. “I’m not helping you.”

Lance sighed dramatically. “ _Fine._ ”

\----  
“We shouldn’t be doing this. Lance, this is a _bad_ idea.”

Lance glanced back at Hunk. “Hey, relax, it’s _fine_ Hunk. We need this, alright? We deserve it! This week has been hell and--” he looked around the corner, waiting for Commander Iverson to clear out, “--we need a nice break. We can hit the town, meet some girls, y’know. Unwind.” He paused for a moment, grinning back at Hunk, “We can check out that new sushi joint.”

That had Hunk’s attention. “I _have_ been dying to try their volcano roll.”

Lance grinned. “That’s the spirit.” He peeked around the corner again. All clear. “Come on,” he whispered before yanking Hunk along. He ducked and scooted along a wall, signaling Hunk to follow. When he turned, he noticed Hunk had stopped following, pressed against the wall, looking mortified. “Hunk,” Lance hissed. “Come on, man. Where’s your sense of adventure?!”

“You’re little _adventures_ ,” he held up his fingers, making air quotes at the last word, “always end us up in the _principal’s office_ , OK?”

Lance huffed out a sigh. “This time it won’t.” He reached over and yanked Hunk along again. “It’ll be fun!” Lance promised, looking over his shoulder, only to slam into another body seconds later.

Lance fell back against Hunk, who reached up to hold him steady before the shorter of the two could fall on his ass.

“Hey, man!” Lance said, stumbling toward the person he had collided with. “Watch where you’re going!” It was then that he noticed it was _Keith_ of all people. Lance paused for a moment, eyes narrowing. “Hey, what are you--”

“Be _quiet_!” Keith hissed, hand slamming against Lance’s mouth who in turn let out a yelp of surprise before shoving the other boy’s hand away. 

“ _You_ be quiet!” Lance retorted. “We’re trying to sneak out and you’re gonna get us caught!”

“Hey, I’m not the one stomping around and yelling about ‘hitting the town’,” Keith said over his shoulder as hurried away. “Go away before you get us all in trouble.” With that, Keith was around the corner and kicking open a vent. The guy definitely seemed to know where he was going, and this probably wasn’t the first, or even the second time he had done this.

“Hey, hold on!” Lance called out to him in a whisper, “Let us come with you.” Behind him, Hunk looked over his shoulder, searching for anyone who might see them.

Keith’s eyebrows drew together as he kneeled by the open vent. “What? No. No _way_ , find your own way out. I’ve got shit to do and I’m not gonna risk getting caught because of you two.”

“Well then, I guess news might get back to the Commander that a certain fighter pilot was trying to flee school grounds after lights out.” Lance shrugged, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

Keith’s eyes narrowed as he looked between Lance then to Hunk and back to Lance again. He hesitated for a moment then finally responded. “Fine, whatever. As soon as we’re out, we go our separate ways. And if I find out you tell _anyone_ about this, I will find you and--”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lance said, pushing Keith through the vent.

Minutes later, they were outside, the cool night breeze biting at his cheeks. Without a word, Keith was suddenly heading the opposite direction of town. Lance and Hunk glanced at each other and then back at Keith. “Where are you going, anyway?” Lance called out and received nothing but silence in response. He exchanged another look with Hunk before rolling his eyes with a sigh. “Alright, _bye_!” Lance called out, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “Have fun!” 

"I have to admit," Hunk started as they turned and began heading toward the city lights, "There is definitely something weird about that guy."

Lance merely nodded in silent agreement.

 

\----

Four days later, rumors began flying around about Keith. Some people thought he had gotten expelled, but nobody was sure. One thing was certain: the guy was _gone_.

“I heard he punched Commander Iverson.”

“He set Mr. Harris’ jacket on fire, _while he was wearing it_.”

“The guy brought a _knife_ to class and pulled it on another student.”

“He just vanished into the desert and never came back.”

If Lance was being honest with himself, he didn’t really care how or why Keith got booted from the academy. All that mattered was that the guy was out of his way and his chances of finally, _finally_ becoming the fighter pilot he had always dreamed of could be possible.

He did kind of feel guilty for celebrating the fact that Keith was gone. The guy just kind of seemed to vanish. No one really knew what happened, and people had been talking about his strange behavior leading up to his disappearance and--

Ah, screw it. He had always hoped for a second chance. Another shot at proving that he could do this. That he was capable and talented enough to be a _fighter pilot_ for shit’s sake. And his second shot was here.

“Say hello to your new fighter pilot,” Lance said, dropping his tray on the table as he slid into a seat next to Hunk in the mess hall. He paused for a moment and spoke again. “Well,” he continued, “I’m not a fighter pilot _yet_. But I will be.” He smirked. “The exam is a month from today, so as long as I study my ass off, I’ve got this.”

Hunk smiled over at his friend, the gesture soft and encouraging. "You got this in the bag, man. I know it. I mean, even though you kind of totally bombed that simulator test the other day--" 

Lance frowned.

"--if you keep working at it you'll be even better than that Keith guy."

Lance couldn't help but smile at that, a small sense of pride swelling in his chest. "Thanks, man," he said, voice soft and sincere. His stomach twisted, nerves already getting the best of him even though the exam wasn't for another month. But, Hunk was right. He could do this.

He had to.

\------

"Alright. Here we go. Another scenario."

Lance sighed from his place on the bed. Around him there were books scattered, papers filled with writing, some crumpled. "I hate these stupid scenario questions," he mumbled. 

Hunk looked up from the book in his hand from the desk across the room. "These are the most important ones, Lance. You've gotta work on these. Let's see here..." he looked back down at the book. "Alright. You're on a rescue mission on a planet that you are not familiar with. Your ship is picking up multiple distress signals from a group you believe to be taken hostage. The hostages seem desperate and in severe danger. However, your commander has advised that you do not land. Do you, A) continue orbiting the area and wait for your commander to let you know it's safe to land, then rescue the hostages, B) go back to base to await further instructions, C) ignore orders and rescue the hostages anyway or D) none of the above."

Lance crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh, this one's easy. It's C."

Hunk looked up from the book and frowned at Lance.

"What?" Lance shot back. "Was I wrong?"

Hunk nodded. "You're not supposed to go against your commander's orders, Lance. That's the number one rule."

"But the hostages are...in distress. Wouldn't it make sense to…?"

Hunk shrugged. "I'm just tellin' you what the book says, man."

Lance huffed out an annoyed sigh before pushing the papers away. "This is--" He shook his head. "Let's go get something to eat," he suggested, sliding off of his bed and grabbing his jacket. "I need a break."

"Sure thing," Hunk said, shutting the book. "My eyes are starting to hurt from all this reading."

For the past week, Lance had spent all of his free time studying, nose shoved in various text books and notes. He refused to let any technicalities get in his way this time. Hunk had been roped into helping Lance study, finding it difficult to get out of it considering the two were roommates. He hadn’t complained, but Lance knew there were many other things they guy would have rather been doing. Lance couldn’t help but smile at that. Hunk really was an incredible friend.

“Did you see that we’ve been reassigned to new teams?” Hunk asked as they walked along the halls. “I’m your engineer,” he said with a grin.

“What?” Lance grinned. “Yes!” He gave Hunk a high five. “Who’s our communication’s officer?”

“Someone named Pidge Gunderson?” Hunk said with a shrug.

“Never heard of ‘em,” Lance replied with a slight raise of his brow.

It wasn’t until the following day that they met this new kid named Pidge. He was much shorter than the two, but the guy’s sassiness definitely made up for his short stature. And he was smart as hell. He and Hunk seemed to hit it off almost immediately, talking in terms that Lance didn’t even want to begin to try and understand.

Eventually, Pidge also managed to get dragged into Lance’s study sessions, but he wasn’t as nice as Hunk was about it. When he got bored or tired, he would let Lance know, stand up from his seat and walk away, leaving Lance and Hunk watching him with mouths slightly agape.

“Pidge really doesn’t beat around the bush, huh?” Lance asked one day.

“Nope,” came Hunk’s almost immediate response.

“And what’s with all the sneaking around?” Lance asked, eyes lowering back down to his notes as he continued to scribble something down. 

“No idea. It’s kinda weird but, I guess it really isn’t our business,” Hunk offered with a small shrug to which Lance responded with one of his own before burying himself back into his notes.

Ironically enough, the following day night Lance and Hunk managed to run into Pidge on the school’s rooftops. Pidge just about jumped out of his skin when Hunk tapped him on the shoulder. He tried to cover up what he was doing, explaining that he was just listening to music. Lance bought into it, but Hunk didn’t believe the kid for a second. He recognized the machines laid out before Pidge and those, Hunk had pointed out, were used to pick up alien readings.

It was then that Pidge finally fessed up and explained what he had been up to every time he ran off alone. He had also explained that his brother and father were part of The Kerberos Mission. A mission than Hunk and Lance, along with everyone else, had been lead to believe had ended with the deaths of the individuals on it.

Pidge was looking for his family and he refused to believe that they were dead.

Pidge also explained that he wasn’t a _he_. But a _girl_.

Lance’s mouth dropped open. “What?!” he almost screeched.

Pidge’s eyebrows drew together. “You are so dramatic,” Pidge said dryly. 

“I am entitled to my _dramatic_ reaction! This is _news_ to me! Hunk?!”

Hunk shrugged. “I knew she was a girl. It’s kind of obvious. I mean, either that or a _really_ pretty boy.”

“Aww, Hunk,” Pidge said with a toothy grin.

\---

One week.

The exam was in one week and Lance felt--

He wasn’t sure what he felt. As soon as he convinced himself that he was ready, he would psyche himself out. Then he would calm himself down and tell himself that, yes, he could do this. He was _ready_ for this.

It was late and he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about the exam. And being a fighter pilot. And goddamn it, Keith was also coming to mind and how fucking good he was and how he didn’t even care and how he didn’t even _try_. He just was. Lance buried his face into his pillow and let out a small, frustrated groan. Across the room, he heard Hunk shift slightly in his sleep and let out a loud snore.

Yeah, Hunk’s snoring also wasn’t helping with the whole trying to fall asleep thing.

Shoving the sheets away from his body, Lance sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He sat in the darkness of the room, hands gripping the edge of the mattress. He needed to get out. Clear his head. Tire himself out.

Standing, he reached for his jacket and shrugged it on while he slid out of the room and into the dim hallway.

Down the hall, he spotted one of the officers. Lance waited for them to turn around and he quickly crossed over to the next corridor and slipped around the corner. Minutes later, he was at the vent Keith had used to help them sneak out all those weeks ago.

Between all of the studying and flying simulators it felt like years ago.

Outside, Lance was greeted by the night chill, the breeze strong tonight. He walked along the edge of the building, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets, eyes trained on the city lights miles ahead. He turned his gaze to his left, to the desert in the distance. It was where Keith had gone that day, the last time he and Hunk had seen him. Lance slowed to a stop, gaze focused on the rocky mountains in the distance.

Nobody really knew what had actually happened to Keith. Most of the students assumed he had been expelled since the guy had been getting into so much trouble. What Lance found strange, however, was the fact that his disappearance had never been directly addressed. It was almost as if the school didn’t even care. And a part of him couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for celebrating and taking advantage of the fact that Keith was gone. He could have been out in the desert, lost or even _dead_ and no one was out there looking for him.

In the distance, there was a crack and what sounded like something falling. Lance quickly moved out of the open and hid behind a pile of discarded ship parts. He let out a small, shaky breath. If he was caught, his chances of becoming a fighter pilot were definitely out the window. He carefully peeked around the pile and watched a few men walking out of a door leading into the storage unit where the motor bikes were kept. Upon closer inspection, he noticed their uniforms as those of the night cleaning crew. He let out a relieved sigh as he ducked behind the pile once more. Moments later, his attention was drawn back to the desert.

Maybe taking one of those motorbikes for a spin would clear his head. Yeah. Definitely. Also, he’d always wanted to ride one of those babies.

It had taken about twenty minutes, but when the cleaning crew began packing up for the night, Lance took his opportunity to sneak past them and into the unit. And once they were gone, he managed to quietly walk one of the bikes out and away from the school grounds. Once he was far enough away, he fired the machine up. It roared to life beneath him and Lance couldn’t help the smirk that pulled at his mouth. He gripped the handles tight and revved the engine, once then twice, feeling like a _total_ badass.

Oh, this would definitely help him clear his head. This was a most excellent distraction, he decided.

Moments later, the bike was flying along the desert and Lance’s heart was racing. He glanced behind him, the glowing lights coming off of the Garrison slowly fading into the horizon. He looked ahead, eyes lifting up to the night sky, the stars twinkling bright alongside the moon, which he noticed was particularly big and bright tonight.

His eyes focused ahead and his mind wandered back to the Garrison and Commander Iverson and the way he always looked at Lance. Like he was a joke. Like he was a failure. Like he couldn’t do _anything_ right. Lance’s grip on the handles tightened, fingernails digging into his palm.

“Screw that guy,” Lance whispered to himself, the roar of the bike and the wind drowning out his words. So he repeated it again, screamed it this time, punctuating each word.

He wasn’t a _goddamn_ failure.

He was a damn good pilot. He knew how to fly, and no goddamn simulator was going to tell him otherwise. It was just a _simulator_.

Suddenly, something out of the corner of his vision caught Lance’s eye. A glowing blue light. He turned his head, eyes squinting against the light that looked like nothing from earth. Something--

The bike was slamming into something he didn’t see and his body was suddenly flung from the bike. Lance’s vision was a blur and the wind was whipping around him until he collided with the dusty ground.

He found himself staring up at the night sky, at the stars and the moon.

And then everything faded away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look an update and I'm only, like, four months late. Haaa, I suck. I'm sorry. To anyone who is still interested in this story, thank you so much! Nice reviews keep me going!
> 
> Also, the first part of this chapter is written from Keith's POV. I'll most likely be switching between the two every now and then as the story calls for it.

It had been almost two weeks since Keith left the academy. Two weeks since he had found a small shack in the desert to call home. Two weeks since he threw his entire future away to find Shiro.

The Kerberos Mission had been covered up, they had pretended like it didn’t even exist and that had pissed Keith off. Shiro was the closest thing he had to a family and he was _gone_ and nobody even fucking cared.

Damn his so called future at as a fighter pilot. None of that mattered because there was a chance that Shiro was still out there. Keith wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it, but he could feel it in his bones. He knew Shiro wasn’t dead.

Fuck, he _couldn’t_ be dead. 

The sun was slowly beginning to stream through the windows, illuminating the small shack. With a sigh, Keith pushed a hand through his messy hair and sat up from the couch where he had fallen asleep the night before. Through bleary eyes, he stared down at the sheets of paper scattered at his feet. They must have slipped out of his hands when he had fallen asleep late into the night. With another sigh, he reached down and began gathering them with fumbling hands.

Once he set them aside he stumbled to his feet and padded his way across the room to the kitchen sink to brush his teeth. He was running low on food which meant he would have to risk a trip into town and hope he wouldn’t be seen by anybody from the academy.

After splashing some water on his face, he grabbed his jacket and slung it on before walking outside, the chill of the night still lingering in the morning air. Swinging a leg over his bike, he turned it on feeling it rumble beneath him for a few moments before taking off.

He wasn’t even half way out of the desert when he noticed the sun glinting off of something in the distance. His eyes squinted against the bright reflection and then he noticed a figure lying a few yards away from it. Was that a--

“Shit,” Keith muttered under his breath as he slammed on the break and turned the bike around. Yeah, that was _definitely_ a body.

A small voice in the back of his head warned him to not bother. To not risk getting caught. What if it was someone from school? What if they turned him in?

He couldn’t just _leave_ them, though. This person probably had a family. And what if they died out here because Keith didn’t do something? He brought the bike to a halt and hopped off. What if they--

Wait. He recognized that stupid military jacket. The cropped brown hair.

Keith couldn’t help the small sneer that came across his face. Out of all people, why did it have to be _this guy_?

Regardless, he dropped down to one knee and took a hold of Lance’s chin, turning the boy’s head to face him. Well, he was definitely still alive and breathing, so there was that.

 _“Just leave him,”_ the same voice told him. Keith was tempted but--Fuck, he couldn’t _actually_ leave this poor kid to die out here. He wasn’t _that_ cruel. He hesitated for a moment and then patted Lance’s cheek, “Hey,” he said. Another pat, this one more of a small slap, actually. “Wake up.”

Lance’s eyebrows pulled together and a small groan escaped him but other than that, there wasn’t much more of a reaction. 

Keith rolled his eyes and heaved out a sigh. “Goddammit.”

And with that, he was dragging Lance onto the back of his bike.

\----------

Everything hurt like hell. His head was throbbing and he could have sworn his ears were stuffed with cotton balls. Very slowly, Lance forced his eyes open, vision blurry. He squeezed his eyes shut when the light made his head throb even more. He groaned. He just wanted to go back to sleep. After a few seconds, he tried opening his eyes again and found himself staring up at a ceiling that looked nothing like the one at his dorm.

Or the sky.

He suddenly remembered flying off of his bike and passing out in the desert.

Where the hell was he?

Lance shot up and immediately regretted it. The room started spinning and he was pretty sure he was about to blow chunks. He winced and squeezed his eyes shut, hand reaching up to touch his temple. “Fuck,” he muttered. When he finally managed to open his eyes and take in his surroundings he noticed a figure across the room. His gaze landed on that familiar mullet he hadn’t seen since that night he and Hunk snuck out of the Garrison. “Keith?” Lance found himself spitting out suddenly.

“You should probably lay back down, you might have a concussion,” was his response. He was standing over a desk, barely looking over his shoulder to speak. His voice was quiet and distracted.

“You’re _alive_ ,” Lance blurted out, “What the hell, man?”

“Shut up and lie down,” Keith said, voice a little louder this time, back still turned to Lance.

Lance stood. Like hell he was going to listen to what Keith was telling him to do.

Even if he was probably right.

And had been the one who had probably saved him from dying in the desert.

Lance somehow managed to make it across the room without falling on his face. Thank god, because he definitely did _not_ need to embarrass the crap out of himself right now. “Hey!” he snapped, grabbing at Keith’s shoulder and forcing him to turn around. “You just up and left the academy like it was no big deal, everyone thinks you died, dude.” Something burned deep in his belly and he wasn’t sure why he was so angry and-- quite frankly?-- strangely relieved to see that Keith was alright. “You had _everything_ going for you and you just run off and throw everything away?”

Keith’s eyes were boring into Lance’s the entire time, something angry burning in them. Lance didn’t even realize he was still gripping Keith’s shoulder until the guy suddenly yanked himself out of Lance’s grip. “Hey, I didn’t save your sorry ass just so you could fucking _lecture_ me, alright?” He turned his back to Lance again, “Besides, shouldn’t you be happy I left? Gives you a chance to snatch up that fighter pilot position,” he added dryly.

Lance couldn’t help but notice the slight disappointed waver in Keith’s voice at that.

“I guess,” Lance responded simply. And with that, their conversation fizzled out and Lance found himself standing awkwardly silent at Keith’s side. Moments later, he suddenly felt the room begin to spin again. Maybe stalking across the room to yell at Keith hadn’t been the greatest idea. Lance stumbled back to the couch and let himself drop down with a small grunt. He leaned his head back, eyes sliding shut. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” he mumbled under his breath to which Keith didn’t reply.

Normally Lance would have been annoyed at Keith ignoring him but he was too focused on not throwing up to really care.

A minute later, something hard was colliding with his head and tumbling down to land on his lap. Lance yelped, lifting his hand and grabbing at the spot where he had been hit. “Ouch!” he all but yelped, “What the fuck, man?!” Lance looked down at the object that had smacked the side of his head. A bottle of water.

He turned his head as Keith rifled through a mini fridge in the tiny kitchen. “You should probably drink some water, you’re dehydrated,” Keith supplied. Lance couldn’t help but notice how pathetically empty the mini fridge was. He glared daggers at the back of Keith’s stupid head and snatched the bottle of water up and cracked it open. He took a sip through a small sneer.

“What the hell were you even doing all the way out here?” Keith asked as he closed the fridge door and opened a cabinet.

“Better question, what are _you_ doing living in a shack in the middle of the desert?” Lance shot back without a moment of hesitation.

“That’s none of your business,” Keith responded immediately, a bite to his tone.

“Well I guess me being out here is none of your business either!” Lance said before chugging the rest of the water angrily. He set aside the empty bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I need to get back before Commander Iverson realizes I’m missing.” He stood and started making his way to the door.

“And how do you plan on getting back?”

Lance could _hear_ that smug little look on Keith’s face. “Uh, walking?” Lance said over his shoulder.

“You’re going to _walk_ ten miles in the desert?” Keith asked flatly.

“Wh--Ten miles?! How the _hell_ did I--Damn it.” Lance muttered out the last words. Did this mean he was _stuck_ here now? 

Keith mopped a hand down his face before pushing away from the kitchen counter. “Shut up,” he sighed out. “I’ll give you a ride back to the Garrison. But I’m dropping you off like, a mile out from the school.”

\-----

It was nothing short of a miracle that Lance made it back to his dorm without being caught. It helped that there were no classes on Saturday. When he spotted Commander Iverson across the hall later that afternoon, Lance all but spun on his heel and hurried in the opposite direction. He was certain his stupid nerves would give him away.

He also still felt ridiculously woozy from the night’s events.

He couldn’t help but wonder if his meeting with Keith had all been some elaborate dream.

Stupid Keith who had found him on the brink of death and saved his life.

Stupid Keith, who was being so secretive about whatever the hell he was doing living out in that shack like a damn caveman.

Stupid Keith with his empty mini fridge and probably equally empty kitchen cabinets. How the hell was he surviving out there anyway? All by himself and--didn’t he get lonely? 

That evening Lance laid in his bunk, freshly showered and stomach full, staring up at the ceiling, eyebrows drawn together. The nurse at the clinic thankfully didn’t ask too many questions and had patched him up pretty good and given him something that took the edge off the pain. He was back in the safety of the Garrison with his friends, closer to a fighter pilot position than he would ever be. Everything he wanted was finally within reach because some asshole decided to go awol. So why couldn’t he shake the image of Keith holed away in some shack out in the desert (probably hungry as hell) out of his mind? 

“Damn it,” Lance hissed as he sat up, legs swinging over the side of the bed, hands braced on either side of him. Keith _had_ done him a solid and rescued his sorry ass. Lance rubbed at his eyes and sighed.

He cursed his conscience, knowing he would hate himself for what he was going to do next.

\----------

Lance rapped his knuckles on the wooden door. After a minute, he took a deep breath and tried again, knocking harder this time. A few seconds later, the door creaked open and on the other side there stood a very confused, somewhat alarmed, Keith. He looked grumpy and tired, like maybe he had just been woken up from a nap.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why are you doing this?_

Lance heaved out a sigh shoving his way past Keith. 

“Wait! How did you find-”

“Stop talking,” Lance said, cutting Keith off. “It’s the least I could do. Take it as a--as a ‘thank you’ for not leaving me to die out there, alright?”

He dropped a bag filled to the brim with food on the kitchen counter. Keith watched him from the door, mouth opening and closing like maybe he wanted to say something.

Lance yanked out a cup of easy mac out of the paper bag, then grabbed for one of the bottled waters lined along the counter. He silently began prepping the small cup and shoved it into the microwave, punching in a few numbers followed by the ‘start’ button. When he turned to lean against the counter, Keith was watching him, still looking mildly confused.

Lance crossed his arms and shrugged. 

“So you bring me food, and then you eat said food that is meant for me,” Keith drawled.

Lance rolled his eyes. “I’m _hungry_ , alright?”

Keith shook his head in response before crossing the room to rifle through the bag.

Silence fell over the two after that. There was only the sound of the crinkling paper bag as Keith searched for something to eat, the humming of the microwave, then the beep when it was done. Lance pulled the mac and cheese cup out and tore open the packet of powdered cheese. He asked Keith where he kept the silverware and Keith just shrugged and told him he had none. Wow. The guy really was living like a damn caveman. 

“You mean I’m just supposed to eat this with my hands? Like some _savage_?” Lance asked, sounding mildly offended.

Keith stared him down for a moment before nodding. “Yup,” he said before walking off, a bag of chips in hand. Lance watched him through half-lidded, unamused eyes.

Keith returned to that _damn_ desk yet again. Lance wanted to ask about it, but he knew Keith would tell him to mind his own business. Now that the silence had settled between the two of them, the awkwardness was back in full force. Lance wondered, for not the first time today, if coming here had been a mistake. 

Lance wandered over to the couch he had woken up on not even twenty four hours earlier and plopped down. He stared down at the cup in his hands. He kept his eyes on it for a few short seconds before beginning to stir it with his finger. He winced and hissed in pain when the macaroni burned him. He shook out his hand and let the cup rest on his lap as he looked off towards the front door.

He kept his eyes trained there for a while and then looked to Keith who was reaching into the bag of chips, eyes trained on what looked like newspaper clippings. Lance watched in silence as Keith thoughtfully chewed and flipped a few of the clippings over, pushed them aside then reached for a thumbtack to press them into, what Lance had just realized, was a bulletin board he had lying on the desk.

What was it that Keith was up to out here that was important enough to make him quit the academy?

Lance looked back down to the cup of mac and cheese in his lap and tried stirring it again. Once the powder was significantly mixed in, Lance raised the cup to his mouth and tilted his head back only to have the entirety of the cup’s contents tumble out and fall all over his face and down the front of his shirt.

“Shit!” he yelped, jumping to his feet because some of it had gone down his shirt and it was still hot.

That seemed to catch Keith’s attention who turned away from the board to look at Lance. He could have sworn he saw a small smile tug at the ends of his mouth, but it was gone as soon as it came. He rolled his eyes at Lance before turning away. 

“See?” Lance barked as he stomped over to the kitchen to grab a napkin, “ _This_ is what happens when I’m subjected to eating like some _barbarian_.”

“It’s not like I really had a chance to run to the home goods store and buy myself a kitchen set,” Keith said over his shoulder. 

“You could have at least gotten _one_ fork--or spoon, anything.” Lance tried his best to wipe the stain off of the front of his shirt, but he still looked like some five year old who was in desperate need of a bib.

Maybe this was a sign. Maybe he shouldn’t have come out here.

Lance crossed the room to snatch the bag of chips from Keith and steal a handful of chips for himself. As he stuffed a few into his mouth, he peeked over Keith’s shoulder, carefully surveying what he was working on. Keith seemed to notice and turned his head to watch Lance with the corner of his eye.

“What?” Keith snapped.

“Nothing,” Lance responded immediately. He took another handful of chips and returned to the couch, this time eating them one by one. He looked down at the old, scuffed floorboards as he slowly chewed and took another bite.

The silence in the little shack seemed to stretch out for what felt like too long. There was that uncomfortable hush that Keith did not seem to mind at all. Maybe being out here all alone really didn’t bother him as much as Lance thought.

“Hey, so…” Lance started because he needed to say _something_ before he lost his damn mind. “If I tell you what I was doing all the way out here, will you tell me what you’ve been up to?”

He watched Keith pause in his movements, but he didn’t look back. Lance chewed on the inside of his cheek, immediately regretting even suggesting it.

“Fine,” Keith finally said.

Lance was taken aback by his response but kind of...relieved? His curiosity skyrocketed at that moment.

“But you’re gonna tell me what you were doing first,” Keith said, turning around in his chair to look at Lance fully.

“Alright,” Lance sighed out, hands gripping at his knees. “I was just out to, uh, clear my head. I’ve had some trouble sleeping lately. My mind’s kind of...been all over the place.” He paused there, afraid of elaborating more. He didn’t feel like sharing what he was _actually_ feeling with Keith. His fears of not being good enough. Of not being recognized by the academy. Of his talents as a pilot being overlooked yet again. “It’s honestly no big deal, I just--” And then he remembered something. The blue light that had his attention right before he crashed. “Wait a second,” he whispered suddenly, words rushing out of him. “I--Before I crashed I--There was this weird light glowing over some rocks.”

Keith’s eyes went wide and suddenly his attention was completely focused on Lance, so intensely, that Lance shifted uncomfortably. “What kind of light?” he demanded, voice serious and quiet.

Lance blinked a few times, stuttering. “Uh, I don’t--I don’t really remember? I just know that it was blue and almost--God,” he huffed out the last word, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t believe I’m even _saying_ this but...almost alien, I guess?”

Keith stood so quickly that the chair nearly toppled over. “You _have_ to show me where you saw this light.” In seconds he was rushing out the door and calling over his shoulder. “Come on!”

\--------

“Maybe it was here?” Lance tried. This was their sixth stop and the sun was finally beginning to crawl down into the horizon. He could tell that Keith was getting annoyed and that fire in his eyes from earlier, the sudden rush of excitement he seemed to carry was long gone.

Keith was leaning back against his bike, fingers pressed against his temple, eyes closed. “Are you _sure_ it was here? I mean, do you know if you even saw something?”

Lance took mild offense to that. He wasn’t _crazy_. “Of course I’m sure!” he said defensively. “Whatever I saw was the whole reason I crashed in the first place. I’m not _that_ shitty of a driver.” With that, he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. It was starting to get cold.

“Let’s just go back,” Keith said, sounding defeated. “We won’t find anything once the sun sets anyway.” He swung a leg over the motorbike and revved up the engine.

Lance climbed onto the bike behind Keith, hands gripping the sides for balance. When Keith took off, Lance almost fell backwards and off the bike and yelped out a, “Shit, watch it, man!” 

By the time they made it back, it was already dark. Lance followed Keith inside. As he shut the door behind him, Lance spoke up. “So, what’s the big deal with this light?” he asked finally. The question had been burning in the back of his mind since he noticed how fiercely Keith had reacted.

“It’s…” Keith trailed off. His mouth pulled into a thin line, and he seemed to be struggling to figure out if he should continue talking or not. “It could be a--a lead,” he finished, words vague.

Lance raised an eyebrow and urged Keith to go on with a wave of his hand, “...a lead on?”

Keith hesitated. “On what I’ve been working on out here,” he finally offered.

Lance’s eyebrows shot up at that, his attention piqued. “Oh, yeah?”

Keith nodded. “Have you, uh. Have you heard of the Kerberos Mission?”

\----------

Keith, surprisingly enough, had explained everything to Lance in the next hour. The cover-ups about the Kerberos Mission, Keith’s theories about what had actually happened, how important it was that he found Shiro.

Lance almost didn’t want to believe any of it. Because, well, an alien abduction? It seemed so unlikely. But, Pidge seemed to believe the same thing about Matt and their father, who had also been on that same mission. And even though it seemed unlikely that they were abducted by aliens, all of this information that Keith had gathered so far, with the readings Pidge had picked up, and that mysterious blue light in the desert--well, it felt much more likely than Lance wanted to admit.

Their conversation had eventually died down when Keith began jotting down notes on the small piece of information about the light he had learned from Lance today. That silence from earlier returned and Lance wasn’t exactly sure what to do with himself.

“I should probably get back to The Garrison,” he decided, startling Keith out of their shared silence. When Keith looked up at him, there was something Lance had yet to see in his eyes. Was it a flicker of hope?

It was a strange look for Keith. But not entirely unwelcome.

Lance offered an awkward goodbye before walking outside only to find that the bike he had taken out here was completely out of fuel and not turning on.

Well shit.

“Hey, uh, Keith?” Lance called out, from his place in front of the motorbike. When he heard the door open, he continued. “My bike’s out of gas. Would you mind, ah, giving me a ride back? Again?” he asked sheepishly.

Keith sighed. “Let’s go.”

Seconds later, they were racing through the cool wind.

\-----------

“You haven’t told anyone about finding me, have you?” Keith asked as Lance hopped off of the bike and patted down his hair. With how fast Keith had been going, it was probably a complete and utter mess.

“I haven’t, and I won’t,” Lance promised. “My lips are sealed, Mullet.”

At that, Keith’s eyebrows pulled together, looking mildly offended as he reached a hand to run over the hair at the back of his neck. “Mullet?” he blurted out.

“Yep. Mullet. That hairstyle you are sporting is most _definitely_ classified as mullet.”

Keith’s face twisted into a small scowl. “I should have made you walk here, asshole,” he hissed.

“Aw, c’mon, man. It’s just a joke,” Lance laughed. “But seriously, thanks for the ride. And I am actually glad you’re not, y’know, dead.”

Keith paused and sighed. “Yeah,” he responded quietly and without another word, he was peeling out into the night leaving Lance alone.

He had promised not to tell anyone about Keith but--Pidge and Hunk were the exception, right?

\---  
“You what?!” Pidge all but screeched into the night air.

Lance had wasted no time in tracking his friends down and convincing them to sneak up to the rooftop for an emergency meeting.

“Yeah, I found him,” Lance said. “And he’s got all this information on The Kerberos Mission. He told me not to tell anyone about this but...I know how hard you’ve been working to find your family and--”

“We have to go find him!” Pidge yelped, jumping up and tugging on Lance’s arm.

“Wait. What, now?” Hunk asked, glancing up at Pidge, eyebrows drawn together. “Pidge it’s way past curfew! Lance is already in so much trouble for disappearing yesterday. He’s lucky I was able to talk to principal down from getting him expelled. We can’t just run off into the desert looking for this Keith guy.”

“I usually hate agreeing with Hunk, but I’m gonna have to go along with this one, Pidge. We should probably at least wait a few days,” Lance said, gently pulling out of Pidge’s grasp.

Pidge dropped down to her knees and stared up into Lance’s eyes, her own twinkling sadly in the moonlight. “Please, Lance. This is so important to me. You don’t understand. Everything I do revolves around finding them.”

Lance bit his lip, staring into a pair of golden eyes. When he managed to tear his gaze away, he looked to Hunk for help who shrugged and shook his head in response.

“You’re the one risking expulsion,” Hunk said. 

Lance sighed and closed his eyes. Not only was he risking getting kicked out of the academy, but he was also risking getting his ass handed to him by Keith.

“Alright, fine,” he said, finally.

Pidge hopped up and let out a screeching, “Yes!” to which Hunk and Lance quickly slapped a hand over her mouth with a hissing, “Shh!”

**Author's Note:**

> ok, so a couple of things. first! i'm sorry if the start was a little slow but most of this chapter was just setting up for what the story is going to be. so, i hope despite that, it was still enjoyable!  
> and second, i kind of struggled with what i should do with pidge and pronouns? i kind of wanted to keep it canon on using 'she' but i know in the show she doesn't "come out" to them until a few episodes in so i kind of wrote it in here?? hopefully it wasn't badly written??? and if it was i'm sorry, sdlkfjkfsk.  
> anyway, i hope you all liked this and i hope you enjoy reading this as much as i'm enjoying writing it!!


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